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EcoATM Kiosk Pays Cash for Old Phones

by Warren Riddle on October 10, 2009 at 04:21 PM



Recycling cell phones eliminates tons of waste and saves valuable components. For various reasons, though, most people still toss their old phones into the trash or keep them squirreled away in a forgotten drawer or nook. In a true "Why didn't I think of that?" development, ecoATM recently unveiled its first credit-for-phone recycling kiosk (with more to follow) in a Nebraska store.

To take advantage of this gadget, a recycler merely drops an old phone into the machine, a camera then scans the device for cracks and other damages, and the machine finally assigns a value based on the model and its wear-and-tear. Depending on the phone's worth, the owner can receive a gift card, an in-store credit, or a free gift, like a waterproof cell-phone cover. The Nebraska machine doled out benefits to 23 cell-recyclers on September 21st, its first day of operation.

Since some studies have shown that as few as 3-percent of the cell-owning public recycles their old mobiles (primarily due to lack of information), the booth could make a significantly positive ecological impact. ecoATM (which plans to develop other 'eCycling Stations' for different gadgets) just needs to make the slot bigger, because it definitely doesn't look like the ol' Hot Line is going to fit. [From: Good and CNET]

Tags: cell phone, CellPhone, EcoATM, environment, green, pollution, recycle

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